Apparatus for treating seamed material



Feb. 18, 1941.

P. GARDNER I APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEAMEDMATERIAL Filed'Sept. 14, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 18, 1941. P, GARDNE I 2,232,223

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEAMED MATERIAL Filed Sept. 14, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. Fiery am /vi? Feb. 18, 1941. GARDNER 2,232,223

APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEAMED MATERIAL Filed Sept. 14, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 18, 1941, P. GARDNER APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEAMED MATERIAL Filed Sept. 14. 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 JNVENTOR. P5267 'Aw/vm 9 ATTORN Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEAMED MATERIAL Application September 14, 1937, Serial No. 163,808

12 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements' in a machine for treating seamed material and has particular reference to the treatment of seamed bias-cut materials.

The main object of the invention'is to provide a simple and efficient apparatus whereby the seams of textile materials may be quickly and easily treated to flatten them whereby they are maintained in this smooth, flattened'condition even when subjected to further use and when passed through various apparatus such as sewing machines and the like.

Afurther object is to provide such an apparatus which will produce fiat smooth seams which will not work loose and will maintain the strength of the union even under severe usage.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus in which seams are produced so smooth and fiat that running material through other apparatus such as sewing machines will not give rise to the catching of the seam or any of its parts on the attachments of said machine, whereby their operation is usually seriously impaired.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages more clearly appear upon consideration of the following specification when taken in connection with the following drawings which form part of the invention'and which illustrate a preferred form thereof.

In the production of textile material with seams, especially when such material has later to be passed through other machinery such as sewing machines, pleaters, folding attachments, and various other apparatus, it has long been the bane of operators of such apparatus that the seams either because they. are thick and loose or because they have projecting portions which catch in the attachments of the machines through which the material pass, and the passage of such unwieldly and loose seams through these machines often. results in clogging machines, stopping their operation and seriously interfering with the usual desired high speed operation required in such industry.

For many, many years, it has been a problem as to how to develop the seam either butt-edge type or the overlapping type which could be made strong and durable so that it would not work loose and yet so smooth and flat that it would maintain its strength while remaining fiat and smooth so that it could pass through the usual high-speed machines without causing interruption and come out as a finished product still strong, smooth and fiat.

Up to the present time, and especially'in'the manufacture and treatment of bias cut material, no one has developed a satisfactory method or apparatus to produce such results.

In the ordinary butt-edge seam, especially referring now to the bias type of material, the

edges of the material are drawn into abutting relation and then stitched together by any suitable stitch such as the overlook type. This type of stitch is generally rather fiat as far as the material goes, but the stitching is sometimes rather cumbersome and in use the material along the seam tends to work loose. In the overlap type of stitch, where the stitching is passed through both layers of material, a given distance from the edge, and the projecting edge portions are then flattened out, this type of seam is rather thick and the projecting flaps of-material have not thus far been so treated as to keep them down and when bias tape with this type of seam is employed, these projecting flaps are constantly getting caught in the attachments on sewing machines, pleaters and like apparatus and cause the operator trouble inaddition to seriously slowing up production. In the treatment of lightweight goods, where the material is very thin, the thickness of the seam may often be quite noticeable, especially when it is of the overlapping seam type.

My invention is adaptable for use with any kind of material having seams therein whether it is bias cut material or not, but in the actual practical form which it has assumed in commerce, it has been developed particularly for use in the treatment of bias cut material. In the manufacture of bias cut material, the material is sewed in the form of a tube with a butt-edge seam and then wound up on a wind-up apparatus of strictly novel form as set forth in Patent No. 2,110,856, March 15, 1938, issued to Frank and Harry Gerstein and entitled Improved bias cutting and wind-up apparatus. In this wind-up device, the tubular material after being cut on the bias, is wound up with its edges so smooth and even that practically only one and a half or two per cent of the material has to be cut off at the edges as waste. However, this bias cutting machine and wind-up does not give the seam any special treatment and it is part of my invention both as to the method and apparatus to take such a wound-up roll of material and place it on a machine through which it is drawn from the roll over a steaming device and then passed through heated drying and calendering pressure rollers so as to heat and press out the seam. After this operation, the material is wound up automatically on a wind-up device similar to the one mentioned above. The action of the steam softens the material and any sizing there may be in it or in the thread of the stitch and 5 then the material is immediately subjected to a suitable pressure while being subjected to the drying heat of the pressure rolls, so that when it leaves the heating pressure rolls it is substantially dry and then wound up. The character of the wind-up is such that the finished roll with the seams treated has the same smooth edge condition as the roll from which it was drawn.

Preferably, in most bias cut materials, the

fabric is such as has a certain amount of sizing or stiffening ingredient therein, generally starch. In order to protect the heating pressure rolls from being clogged up and coated with this starch, as they would be after passing the steam zone, it is generally desirable and forms part of my method and apparatus to subject the material to a coating action before it reaches the steam zone. This coating material may be applied in many different ways but in one preferred form I dispose a roller or bar of Wax or any desired material in the path of the fabric so that the fabric rub-s against the coating material and receives a thin coating which tends to protect the surface of the heating and pressure rollers from the sizing which has been softened by the steam.

As the material reaches the steam zone, the effect of the steam is to soften the fabric and especially the sizing in it so that the immediately consequent subjection of the material to great pressure and dry heat seems to cause the sizing to be pressed particularly into the seam and then, thereafter, immediately dried, producing what might be called a sort of welding action on the seam to bind the edges of the material and the stitching thread, and the overlapping flaps, in the case of an overlap seam so tightly together that they thereafter are retained in a firm, strong condition and perfectly smooth. Repeated examinations of many samples of various types of goods treated in this machine and by this method, whether of one type of seam or another, has made it almost impossible merely by feeling the goods to tell whether there was a seam or not in the goods. Repeated practical everyday tests of material thus treated has proven that it will run through other apparatus and past the attachments therein without the slightest danger of catching in the 55 attachments or clogging the operation of the machine.

This new form of scam has proved to be so novel and useful that a great demand has now grown up for material having its seams thus 60 treated.

In the operation of the machine, the function ing of which is illustrative of one form which my method may assume in practice, it is very desirable that the linear speed of the heating 65 pressure rolls be made identical with the linear speed to which the material is subject in. the wind-up apparatus, that no uneven or irregular tension or pull is exerted on the material, but, instead, it flows evenly through the ma- 70 chine. Its evenness on the pull of the material throughout the machine is one of the main factors in producing as even an edge wind-up in the finished roll as that which exists in the roll from which the material is drawn before being 75 treated. Therefore, the advantages of an evenly wound, smooth edge roll is still maintained even though the material is passed through this machine and has the added advantage of having seams of whatever type made perfectly flat, smooth and strong. 5

With these and other objects in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be 10 hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the append-ed claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being understood, however, that no 15 limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein shown but that alterations and modifications within the scope of the ap pended claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings, 20

Figure l is a side elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus with certain parts broken away;

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section of 25 the upper portion of the apparatus taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a partial elevation showing the manner in which the calendering pressure can be regulated. 30

Primarily, the invention includes the provision of an apparatus wherein material which is provided with seams therein may be passed from a roll such as A through the apparatus to receive a suitable coating of protective material 35 after which it is passed over a jet of steam and then under pressure between heated calendering rollers to flatten out the seam therein and then passes through suitable tensioning and guiding rollers in and on to a wind-up device in 40 which it is rerolled or rewound in substantially the same symmetrical shape and accurate edge form as before.

In the drawings, the machine comprises members Ill and II supporting a platform I2 and 45 upper frame members l3, I4, 15, I6 and IT. A bracket I8 supports on a suitable shaft [9 a roll of material A which has preferably been wound up on any desired machine but preferably on the wind-up apparatus shown in Patent No. 50 2,110,856, March 15, 1938, issued to Frank and Harry Gerstein and entitled Improved bias cutting and wind up apparatus. The shaft [9 is preferably provided as a core bar to support the roll A and may be and preferably is provided in any suitable manner, not shown, to grip the roll mounted thereon so as to prevent any axial sliding of the roll of the material on the core bar or shaft while it is being unwound. The characteristic of this roll of material is that it is provided with seams and is so accurately wound up that its edge is substantially smooth and in a single plane so that it requires practically no edge cutting and thereby eliminates waste. In the preferred operation'of this device this roll of material is in the form of a sheet of material cut on the bias with bias formed seams. These seams may be either of the butt-edge type or of the overlapping type, or of any other type as far as the invention is concerned. The material on leaving the roller A passes over the edge of the platform l2 between tensioning rollers 20 and then between guide rollers 2| and preferably over a coating surface 22 which may be in the form of a bar or roller of wax or any other desired material with which it is wished to coat this surface of the textile fabric. The purpose of this coating is to protect the operatrollers of the machine, especially the heating and pressure rollers from the effect of the starch in the material, and which has been found to flatten out the seams When the material is proberly coated with such a substance as wax or its equivalent, without the starch therein building up on the operating rollers and clogging the functioning of the machine. After the material has been suitably coated by passing over or in contact with the coating material 22, it passes around a calendering roller 23 and between it and another calendering roller 24 which are preferably both interiorly heated by any suitable means not shown. As the material passes on to the lower heating roll 23 it is subjected to a blast of steam from a pipe 25 disposed below the heat ing and pressure roll 23 and below the path of movement of the material. This steam is supplied in any suitable manner and the manner of its supply forms no particular part of the invention. However, the direction of the fiow of steam from the pipe 25 is important, and it is to be noted that it is desired to direct the steam upwardly against the seamed material but in such an upward and outward direction that the steam does not flow toward the heating and drying pressure rollers but away from the zone of said rollers. It is also desired that the steam employed be made as dry as possible and any suitable mechanical or other means to effect this purpose may be employed.

The lower heating and pressure roll 23 is preferably mounted on a block 26 at each end supported on a pivoted bar 2'! connected to a spring supported turn buckle 28 which can be adjusted to regulate the degree of pressure with which the lower roll 23 is forced upwardly against the upper roll 24, thereby determining the degree of pressure to which the textile material is subjected as it passes between these rollers.

It will thus be seen that I take a'roll of material which has seams therein, whether of the bias type or not and which material is preferably, although not necessarily formed with sizing therein, and pass it from an original roll through the apparatus subjecting it to a steaming action followed immediately bya heating and pressing action which will tend to heat upthe material and then press out the seams therein. In material which contains sizing, the operation will be accompanied by the preliminary coating with a protective material such as wax or other suitable coating of material, and in these instances it has been found that steaming of the material will tend to melt the sizing and the heating and pressing of the material immediately after steaming will force this sizing intimately into the seam of the goods and press it into further intimate contact and in a difiused manner therethrough so that when the material leaves the last heating roller the material is substantially dry and the seam is pressed out firm and fiat to such a degree that in most cases the sense of touch cannot perceive the seam.

After the material leaves the heating and pressure rollers it passes upwardly and away from the steam zone onto a wind-up apparatus which is suitably supported on the frame elements l5, l6 and IT. This wind-up apparatus comprises rollers 29, 30 and 3| which are suitably driven. The roll 29 merely acts as a guide and tension roll, and the rolls 30 and 3| are spaced apart a sufflcient distance' to provide driving and supporting surfaces for core member 32 mounted on a core bar 33 over which the first few folds of the material are wrapped to start the operation. This core bar 32 may be and preferably is provided with any suitable means not shown to firmly grip the material so that as it is wound up on the core bar in the form of a rewound roll of material, it will not be permitted to have any longitudinal axial movement with respect to the core member 32. It will therefore be seen that with the roll A in a definite fixed position on its shaft and the rewound material in a definite predetermined fixed positionon its core member, if these positions are properly related to each other, this relation, in combination with other elements heretofore and hereinafter set forth, will insure that the rewound roll will have just as even an edge as the roll from which the material is rewound before being treated.

After this, the material on the core rests by and 3| which are driven in such linear direction as to wind up the material. The weight of the core and the material provide sufiicient drag on the goods to effectively wind it up and the operation of the pressure and heating rolls 23 and 24 are so mechanically synchronized that their linear speed is identical with the linear speed at whichthe material-is being wound up. In other words, through the entire apparatus anypull on the material to which it might be subjected by any parts with which it comes in contact is even, and the speed atwhich the material is driven at various points in the apparatus is the same throughout so that as the material is wound up it will assume the same even edge form of roll after it is wound up as it had when mounted on the shaft 19 in the form of the roll A.

Preferably, I provide a weighted bar 34 mounted. on the end of a shaft or bar of arms 35 pivoted at 36 and provided with counterweights 31- which can be lowered to the dotted line positions shown'in Figure 4 to press on top of the material as wound up especially in the beginning to provide the necessary frictional pressure between the material and the driving rolls 3!! and 3|. After the material is wound up or at any time during the process, the core bar 33 can be elevated since its ends ride in slots in the frame member l6 and can be removed from the frame by the side passages 38 in said frame members. A latch 39 held in normal latching positions by a spring :40 may be used to hold the weighted bar.34 in its elevated position if desired.

'A motor 4l' is connected to a suitable gear reducing box 42 provided with a spur gear 43 connectedto a chain or belt 44 which is connected to a gear 45 on a shaft 46 disposed near the top, of the machine. This shaft 46 drives the upper heating roll 24 which at its opposite end is provided with a gear 41' meshing with a gear 48 on theend of the lower heating roller 23 so that this roll may be operated. On shaft 45 is also disposed a gear 49 connected to a chain or belt '50 which in turn connects with a gear 5| mounted on shaft 52. This shaft 52 is connected to the driving roller 30. The'opposite end of the driving roller 30 is provided with a gear 53 meshing with an idler gear 54 which in turn meshes with a gear 55 on the end of the driving roller 3|, so that these. two rollers 30 and 3| are driven in the same direction as shown in Figure 4. The tension roller 29 is an idler and merely aids in tensioningand guiding the material from gravity on the adjacent surfaces of the rolls 30 V the pressure and heating rollers to the wind-up roller.

A suitable pedal 56 is provided and. connected by suitable leverages to upright arms 51 at opposite sides in the frame and extending beneath the ends of the core bar 33 to facilitate lifting of the same from the drive rollers 30 and 3|.

It is of course to be understood that the particular position of the coating device or element, such as the wax bar or rod 22, is not necessarily confined to that shown since it may be disposed in some other position such as adjacent the tensioning bars 20 at the left of the platform l2 as long as the desired material containing sizing can be thus coated by a protective means such as wax before it passes into the zone where it is subjected to steam and thereafter passes by, over and between the heating and drying rolls under pressure.

It will therefore be seen that I have provided a simple unitary machine and a simple and emcient method of which the function of this machine is only one preferred embodiment for treatin seamed textile material so as to take a roll of such material and quickly and easily unwind it, pass it through the machine where it is treated to steam and then to a heating and drying pressure to flatten out the seam'into what might possibly be called a welded form, and then to rewind the material in exactly the same even condition in which it was before being treated.

It will also be further noted that in the treatment of seamed goods, especially where it contains sizing or other chemicals which may become coated on the heating and pressure rolls, I provide simple means whereby the surface of the material can be covered with a thin protective coating.

It therefore is to be observed that I have provided a simple and efiicientrnethod and. apparatus whereby seamed textile goods can be produced for future use in many forms of machinery, such as sewing machines, pleaters, etc, without there being any likelihood of the seams or any projecting portions thereof catching in the machine attachments. In this manner, therefore, a great deal of the trouble which has occurred over a long period of years in the handling o-f seamed goods, especially bias cut material, is entirely avoided.

It will also be observed that the seams so treated not only are formed in a flat and smooth condition, but are unusually strong so that they have not the sometimes common tendency to work loose.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to a preferred form in which it may be embodied, and while it is also clear that the method herein set forth may be adapted in other forms of machines and apparatus than the particular one shown, it is clearly not intended to limit the invention in its scope to the details and structures shown. The invention in its broadest aspects is only limited by the scope of any one or more of the following claims.

What I claim is my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for treating seamed. material which comprises means for supporting a roll of said material, power means for pulling the material off of said roll through the machine, means for subjecting the material to a steaming action, means for subsequently subjecting the steamed material to pressure and drying heat, means for rewinding saidmaterial into a roll, and the linear speed of the rewinding means and the pressure rollers being maintained identical.

2. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises means for coating the material and disposed to contact with the material as it passes through the machine, means for steaming the material after it is coated, means for pressing the material and drying it while pressing it after it is steamed, and means for winding the material into aroll.

3. A machine. for treating seamed material which comprises means for coating the material and disposed to contact with the material as it passes through the machine, means for steaming the material after it is coated, means for pressing the material and drying it while pressing it after it is steamed, means for winding the material into a roll, and means for maintaining the linear speed of the winding machine and the pressure rolls identical.

4. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises a coating roller, a steam jet to steam material after it is coated, a pair of pressure rollers to press the material after it is steamed, means for interiorly heating said pressure rollers, and a rewinding apparatus to receive the material as it passes from the heated pressure rollers.

5. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises a support for a roll of said material, said roll having substantially smooth, even edges, means for coating said material after it passes from the roll of material, means for steamjng said material after it is coated, means for pressing and drying said material after it is steamed, and means for rewinding the material into a roll after it is pressed and dried.

6. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises a support for a roll of said material, said roll having substantially smooth, even edges, means for coating said material after it passes from the roll of material, means for steaming said material after it is coated, means for pressing and drying said material after it is steamed, means for rewinding the material into a roll after it is pressed and dried, and means for maintaining the linear speed of the rewinding means identical with the linear speed of the pressing means.

'7. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises a support for a roll of said material, said roll having substantially smooth, even edges, means for coating said material after it passes from the roll of material, means for steaming said material after it is coated, means for pressing and drying said material after it is steamed, means for rewinding the material into a roll after it is pressed and dried, means for maintaining the linear speed of the rewinding means identical with the linear speed of the pressing means, and means forming part of the rewinding means whereby the weight of the material being wound up creates the necessary tension in the material to wind it up.

8. A machine for treating bias seamed mat rial which comprises means for coating the material, means for softening the material, means for subjecting the material to drying heat under regulated pressure, and means for winding up the material after it is dried and pressed.

9. A machine for treating bias seamed material which comprises means for coating the material with wax, means for subjecting the material toa jet of steam after it is waxed, a pair of interiorly heated drying and pressure rollers through which the material is passed after it is steamed, and a plurality of rollers forming a wind-up apparatus to engage the material after it is dried and pressed to wind it up.

10. A machine for treating bias seamed material which comprises means for coating the material with wax, means for subjecting the material to a jet of steam after it is waxed, a pair of interiorly heated drying and pressure rollers through which the material is passed after it is steamed, a plurality of rollers forming a windup apparatus to engage the material after it is dried and pressed to wind it up, and mechanical means: to produce identical linear speeds in the wind-up rolls and the pressure rollers.

11. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises means for passing the material through the machine, means for treating the material to an initial steaming action, means for subjecting the steamed material to a drying heat under pressure, and means for directing the steam on the material but away from the zone of the means for drying the material.

12. A machine for treating seamed material which comprises means for supporting a roll of said material, power means for pulling said material off of said roll through the machine, means for coating the material after it leaves said roll, means for subjecting to material to a steaming action after it leaves the coating means, means for subsequently subjecting the steamed material to pressure and drying heat away from the influence of the steaming means, and means for rewinding said material into a roll.

PERCY GARDNER. 

